Duel to the Death
by Raiz Darr
Summary: Raiz Darr, nothing more than a n00b. His cousin... is no exception. The simple card game of YUGiOh may seem simple and harmless to them right now, but soon the winds of fate will blow them, and every other duelist, into a maniac stopping destiny.
1. Chapter 1

Duel to the Death

Chapter 1: Raiz

Yu-Gi-Oh, the top selling game of all time. Certain decks are far more superior to others, but for many duelists, that won't hold them down. We'll begin the story a few years back, where we meet Raiz Darr.

Duelist Name: Raiz Darr

Gender: Male

Appearance: Short, black hair. Brown eyes. Very tall and somewhat skinny. Often wears a black sweater with red band-like stripes on the sleeves and a red "Z" on the front. Blue jeans.

Current Favorite Card: SDK Blue-Eyes White Dragon

Duelist Name: Taylor Ralmz

Gender: Male

Appearance: Bushy, brown hair. Red eyes. As tall as Raiz and a largely built upper body. Often wears a brown sweater with no fancy details. Torn blue jeans.

Current Favorite: MRD Sanga of the Thunder

Raiz and Taylor are cousins. It was all the fun stories and cards that Taylor had to show and tell that got Raiz interested into the game. His only cards come from the Kaiba Starter Deck, Yugi Starter Deck and the first four sets, mainly Pharaoh's Servant. He hasn't gotten any chances to buy cards from later sets. Raiz just completed his deck, and is about to begin his first duel against the long-dueling Taylor at a card shop. Taylor just finished getting last place in a tournament. Raiz's family agreed to pick him up. However, before they left, the two of them decided to have a duel.

"It's time," Taylor said in his medium-pitched yet powerful voice. "Your first duel, Raiz. Let's see just how powerful your deck is." Her placed his cards down in front of his cousin. "Cut the deck."

"Um… okay," Raiz said nervously in his deep, yet gentle voice. He took off the top half of the deck and set it aside, then placed the bottom half on top of it. He gave his newly shuffled deck to Taylor, who did the same thing. Taylor took out two die, giving one to Raiz.

"This is how we'll decide who goes first," he said. "Whoever rolls higher chooses the order." Raiz nodded and they both rolled. Taylor got a 3, Raiz a 4. "You choose," he said, drawing five cards from his deck.

"I'll start then, I guess…" Raiz said, drawing five slowly and carefully, then a sixth. A young boy stood on the side, the lifepoint amounts written on a pad of paper. He flashed to them the starting points, 8000-8000. A "T" was over the first set of numbers, an "R" over the other. Raiz was ready to begin. He placed a monster facedown and horizontal, then a facedown spell/trap card. "Um… these two cards down, and I'll end." Taylor smiled as he drew his next card.

"My move then! I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200)!" A red, robotic looking monster card was placed onto the field. "Now, attack his defense-mode monster!" Raiz flipped the card over. It was a small, pink worm with orange wings coming out of its head.

"It's Kiseitai (300/800). Now, well… it becomes equipped to your monster. So… I gain lifepoints equal to half your monster's attack points when your turn starts." Raiz reread the card to make sure. "Yeah…"

"I set a card facedown!" Taylor declared, placing a card in the spell/trap zone. "Now it's your turn!"

"Okay…" He drew a card. "I play… Overdrive (1600/1500)." He threw down the green tank monster. "And… yeah, go." Taylor laughed a little to himself.

"Man, you're not half bad for someone who's never played before." He drew. 8000-8800. "Now I'll tribute my Ryu-Kishin Powered!" He placed his monster in his graveyard. Raiz placed Kiseitai in his own. "And Tribute Summon my Beast of Talwar (2400/2150)! Attack Overdrive!"

"I'll use a trap…" Raiz flipped his facedown card over. It was a small yellow ball with angel wings on a long stick. "Enchanted Javelin. So… I get 2400 lifepoints."

"Then Talwar inflicts 800," Taylor pointed out. 8000-10400. "Your turn."

"I'll draw…" And so Raiz drew. "I play Monster Reborn and get back Overdrive." The spell card was placed right into the graveyard and Overdrive was placed from the graveyard onto the field. "Then I'll put him in the graveyard… and play Summoned Skull (2500/1200)." His new monster was a demon's skeleton with some organs seen through the rib cage. It had huge, blue-ish wings. "And I'll attack…"

"I'll activate my facedown trap card!" Taylor declared powerfully. "Go, Reinforcements! This card will give my monster 500 more attack points!" Raiz sighed, placing his Skull in the graveyard. 8000-10000.

"Go…" Taylor, again, gave a laugh, this one mocking.

"Lesson 1, Raiz, the power of a good trap card. Oh well, you'll learn eventually. I draw!" He fiercely drew a card off the top of his deck. "Now I'll summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)! This monster may shift to defense mode after it attacks, but it can still hurt you a lot right now! I'll attack with both of my monsters!" 8000-5300. "Lesson 2: Lifepoints aren't everything. In one move, because I had such amazing field advantage, I was able to gain an amazing lifepoint advantage." He shifted his Goblins to defense mode. "Go ahead then, Raiz. Let's see you survive me now."

"Okay then…" he drew a card. "I'll place this monster in defense mode and end." He felt himself getting more comfortable with his dueling voice, but less confident in the turnout of the duel. Taylor wasted no time in drawing.

"I'll draw and tribute my two monsters!" Talwar and the Goblins all went to the graveyard. "And summon Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200)! The monster was a huge, black golem with orange plates. Its head was a perfect, black sphere with some yellow Japanese writing on it. It looked powerful, and its stats agreed. "Now I'll attack." Raiz put his Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) into the graveyard. "Now let's see how you'll do. Go." Raiz cleared his throat and drew.

"I play Change of Heart, a spell card that… that let's me take your monster… for this turn at least." Sanga went to Raiz's field, much to Taylor's displeasure. "Now… I'll use Premature Burial and pay…" He read the card. "800 lifepoints, and bring back Summoned Skull. I'll attack with both..." 2900-4500. "Then I'll tribute them both… and I'll summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500). And… that'll end my turn." Taylor was in shock. The duel was basically his, and then Raiz pulls off such an amazing turn. It was the kid's first duel, and Taylor wasn't about to lose under those circumstances.

"I draw!" He was pissed now, and ready to fight back at full power. He looked at his new card and smiled. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn." He placed a spell/trap card facedown. Raiz wasn't nervous.

"I'll draw a card, then attack!" He moved his Dragon slightly forward.

"I'll activate my facedown!" Taylor said. "Go, Call of the Haunted! This trap card will return Sanga of the Thunder to the field!" He placed his monster on the field.

"I'll continue my attack!" Taylor smiled.

"You didn't even worry about the fact that my monster has en effect. You should've read the card. Once while it's face-up, I can make the attack points of your attacking monster 0!"

"Ah! What!?" Raiz screamed. He grabbed up Sanga and read. "Damn…" He placed his Blue-Eyes in the graveyard. 2900-1900. He set a defense mode monster. "I'll set this guy and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn!" Taylor said, laughing and drawing his card. "And I'll use Monster Reborn to summon your Blue-Eyes to my side of the field!" Raiz grunted. "Now, Blue-Eyes attack!" Raiz flipped his monster over. It was small, brown, had red feathers and was holding a scythe.

"Hane-Hane (450/500)! This card lets me return Sanga back to your hand!" Taylor twitched, but sighed and returned his monster.

"Your turn then," he said. Raiz drew, smiling after he saw his card.

"Now I play Dark Hole and destroy Blue-Eyes!" Taylor, unhappily, returned his other monster back to his cousin's graveyard. "Ha, now it's time for me to start winning!" Raiz was having the time of his life, and with good reason. "I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000)!" The green genie card was placed on the field.

"No!" Taylor yelled, angry that Raiz had gotten out one of the most powerful low-level monsters currently in the game. "You can't!"

"I can!" Raiz said, laughing. "Attack!" Taylor glared at his opponent, finding himself far angrier than he had been before. 1100-1900. "Your turn."

"I DRAW!" Taylor screamed, alerting the entire card shop. One particular duelist's attention was caught.

Duelist Name: Jamie Alexander

Gender: Male

Appearance: Really tall with medium-length brown hair. Super skinny. Usually wears black t-shirts and blue jeans.

Current Favorite Card: Relinquished

"Raiz!" he called in his high-pitched voice, running over from the other side of the shop. "Remember me, your sister's friend?" He was practically bouncing in place with excitement.

"Yeah, I do," Raiz replied. "Just about to win this duel, wanna watch?"

"Oh, yeah yeah, sure!" He pulled up a chair and sat down.

"YOU WILL NOT WIN!" Taylor screamed. He stopped and took a few deep breaths. "I'll activate Soul Exchange. Now I can tribute your La Jinn!" He placed soul Release in the graveyard. Raiz placed his La Jinn in his graveyard. "And I'll use the tribute to set this monster. Your turn."

"Draw." Raiz was happy with his draw. Jamie leaned in and took a look. He decided to stay out of it, even though he knew Raiz would probably make the wrong move. "I play my 7-Colored Fish (1800/800)." The monster was a rainbow fish, big surprise. "Now, I'll attack your monster!"

"Ha!" Taylor mocked. "Labyrinth Wall (0/3000)!" The monster was nothing more than a labyrinth, but the move still hurt. "My monster has more defense points than your monster has attack points, so you take damage, 1200 points of it!"

"Crap…" Raiz said, sighing. 1100-700. "I end my turn."

"Yo, kid," Taylor said to the young scorekeeper. "What're the standings?"

"You have 1100," he said quietly to Taylor. "That guy has 700."

"That's what I thought," Taylor said, drawing. "Now I tribute my Labyrinth Wall to summon a second Beast of Talwar!" The exchange was made, and Raiz knew he was in trouble. "Attack!" Raiz sent La Jinn to the graveyard. 1100-100. "This duel's in the bag," Taylor laughed. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

"I draw!" Raiz declared, picking up the card that may decide the duel. "I'll set a card facedown and end." He placed his card facedown in the s/t zone. "It's been fun, Taylor."

"Whatever, as long as I win," he responded, drawing. "Now, I summon my own La Jinn!" Another genie appeared on the field. "It's time to call your bluff, Raiz. Talwar, attack!"

"I activate a trap card!" Raiz called out, finally finding his full dueling confidence. "Mirror Force! Now all your cards are destroyed!" Taylor laughed.

"Ha ha ha! YES! I win! I'll activate a counter trap card!" Raiz shook. A card that could counter Mirror Force… it couldn't be… Taylor flipped his facedown trap over. "Seven-Tools of the Bandit! Now I can pay 1000 lifepoints, bringing me down to 100, and negate your trap card!" Raiz placed Mirror Force in his graveyard and sighed.

"Final score!" the kid declared. "Taylor, 100 lifepoints. Raiz, 0 lifepoints. Taylor wins!"

"Booyah!" Taylor cheered. "No worries, Raiz. I started playing before you, so I'll always be better than you!"

"Untrue," Jamie intervened, a pissed look on his face. "My bud Bret started long before I did, and him and I are now about equal, and I'm sure I'm on the path to surpassing him. Besides, Raiz almost beat you. He'll surpass you easily, I can guarentee it."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Taylor said, laughing to himself. "Come on, Raiz, your mom's waiting outside for us." Jamie grabbed Raiz's arm.

"He'll be a second," he told Taylor. Not caring, the jerk walked out. Jamie turned to Raiz. "Don't worry, Raiz," he told him. "I'll train you. With my help, you'll surpass that cousin of yours in no time."

"Thanks," Raiz said, nodding.

"Your birthday's next weekend," Jamie reminded him. "Your sister invited me to join her at your party. Bring your deck."

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

Duel to the Death

Chapter 2: Restricted

Raiz's cards were spread across his floor. He just bought some new packs, and was eagerly trying to perfect his deck with these new additions to his collection.

"Ah, here's a nice card!" He said, picking up one of his newer additions. "Hysteric Fairy (1800/500)… same stats as La Jinn and 7-Colored Fish… but with an effect! And I have a few!" He smiled. These new packs were treating him well, and he was ready to destroy Jamie the next day. He looked at his pile of super rare and ultra rare cards. Blue-Eyes was definitely going back in. He wasted no time placing it on top of the Fairies. He looked at a super rare he just got from a pack. "Yup, that's a keeper." The deck construction was going very well in his opinion.

The next day was the party. The location was a bowling alley. Raiz was there with a few of his friends, and Taylor was there as well. Raiz, Jamie and Taylor, the three bowling duelists. Jamie arrived just before the game began. After one game, the winner was Jamie, and by a long shot.

"We have a break now," Jamie said, worn out. "Now come, let's train you a bit." Raiz nodded and followed him. He was led out to the furthest alley. Jamie walked onto it. "Come on, get in that alley over there." He pointed three alleys away. "I've rented all four of them out."

"Um… okay…" Raiz said, confused. He walked onto the fourth alley, leaving two between the duelists. Jamie threw him something. He caught it, almost dropping it. He looked at it. A large, black device with a red gem on the top. There was a small computer screen on the side with '8000-8000' on the top and the rest being a full blank card field. Attached to it was another screen, the side of a card. "What is…"

"I'm testing it," Jamie said. "They gave me a few. You can have that one. It's called a Duel Disk. Press that red button." He looked on the side and saw a small red button. He pressed it. Out from the side jetted a long, sharp, have sickle. It had five slots, each with an insertion slot beneath it. On the upper corner was another button. He pressed it, and a compartment opened. "That's for field spells. This thing's very easy to use. The main screen shows the current duel, the secondary screen has a card database, updated by satellite whenever a new card is released. Place your deck in that slot with the arrow pointing to it. Your graveyard is that slot next to it that leads inside the entire device. Place monsters on top of that long part, spells and traps inside. If you wanna flip spells or traps, you press the small button just below the slot. The red gem in the middle's a hologram projector. Our monsters will actually battle. Call out the monster's name when you want it to use an effect or attack, same goes for searching through the graveyard."

"Amazing…" Raiz said, still staring at the device. "So… it'll be like we control a real army of monsters!" Everyone was in shock, and Taylor looked jealous.

"I've got one for you too, Taylor," Jamie said. "So you and Raiz can test them further for me." He turned back to Raiz. "Now then, let's duel. I'll log the duel via my Duel Disk so I can review it later, but I'll also be pointing out your mistakes as you make them. That is how I will train you. The power button's on the back." Jamie turned his white Duel Disk on. Raiz found his switch and did the same for his black one. "Let's duel!" he called, causing a die to roll. It landed on 5. "Come on, say it."

"Oh, right!" Raiz said, sweating a little. "Can I make my own catch phrase?"

"So long as it has "Duel" in it," Jamie said.

"Sweet!" he replied. "Ignite: Duel!" It was stupid, but Jamie knew he'd think of a better one some day. Raiz's die got a 2. The lights of the bowling alley faded and the alley's colored lights turned on.

"Then I start!" Jamie declared, drawing six cards. Raiz drew his five and waited. "I use mo monster's effect to Special Summon it, Gilasaurus (1400/400)!" On the alley, a brown dinosaur appeared, slashing at the air and roaring loudly. "My monster's effect allows me to Special Summon my monster, then allowing you to Special Summon a monster from your graveyard. However, you have none, so I get a free extra summoning! Now I'll set a monster and this card facedown!" Two unseen cards appeared in the alley, one in the monster card zone and one in the spell/trap card zone. "And I end my turn!" These things were amazing; the fact was on everyone's mind.

"I draw!" Raiz called out, forcing himself to yell so he can make sure Jamie hears him. "Now I summon Darkfire Soldier #1 (1700/1150)!" Flames consumed part of Raiz's alley and an orange man emerged from then. He held a long, steel sickle in his hands. "Heh, cool. Darkfire Soldier, attack Gilasaurus!" The solider slashed the dinosaur, shattering the image into tiny pieces. The lifepoints changed on the Duel Disks. 8000-7700.

"That wasn't bad there," Jamie said. "But that move was preschool. Go on, then." Raiz nodded.

"I'll set a card facedown and end my turn." His facedown spell/trap appeared on the field. Wow, that was easy!

"And let there be draws!" Jamie declared. He looked at his new card for a while. "I summon Senju of the Thousand Hands (1400/1000)!" An ugly orange pope-like monster appeared on the field. "Now I can search my deck for any Ritual monster and add them to my hand!" He looked to his deck and flashed the card. "And I choose this monster, Relinquished (0/0)!" Raiz had no idea what the card was, but he didn't worry about it. "And now, I'll end my turn." Raiz was confused. He may have gotten a card, but now he had a monster ripe for the picking. Shrugging, he began his turn.

"I'll draw," he said. He drew Hane-Hane, the perfect card for foiling any strategy he might have. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, then attack Senju!" Darkfire Soldier #1 listened and slashed away at Senju. 8000-7400. "I'll end my turn." Dueling this way was fun as hell, even to watch.

"My go!" Jamie said, drawing a card. "Now I activate a spell card, Black Illusion Ritual!" A golden pot appeared in the middle of the field. "I'll offer my facedown Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) and Special Summon my Relinquished!" To the graveyard went a young woman with three eyes and a long black dress. Replacing her was a disgusting blue monster with a single staring eye and huge beetle wings. Raiz looked up the card now. It had no stats, but it could basically absorb an opponent's monster. If the monster's facedown, it gets no stats. If it's face-up, it copies the monster's stats. All damage taken from battling it would also be inflicted to the monster's opponent.

"Yikes," Raiz said. "That's a lethal card…" Jamie smiled.

"It only gets worse, Raiz, don't worry. Witch of the Black Forest's effect allows me to add a monster with 1500 or less defense from my deck to my hand, and I choose Thousand-Eyes Idol (0/0)!" Raiz looked it up. No stats, no effect. "now, Relinquished, absorb the facedown monster!"

"Wait!" Raiz called. "Why are you doing that? You know…"

"My monster gets no additional stats," Jamie finished. "I know." He checked his monster's new equipment. "I see, Hane-Hane. Anyway, I activate my facedown card, a bluff that you didn't fall for, Polymerization! I can now fuse together Relinquished and Thousand-Eyes Idol to summon the latest addition to my deck, Thousand-Eyes Restrict (0/0)!" Hane-Hane was destroyed as the two monsters merged into a swirling vortex, resulting in a purple version of Relinquished, but this one with eyes scattered all over its body. They all opened, staring around the whole bowling alley, making squishing noises every time one of them moved. "This monster has the same absorption effect that Relinquished had, but its other effect is different. As long as this monster remains on the field, no other monsters can attack!" Jamie smiled, proud of his new monster. Raiz stared, amazed by its power… and grossness.

"That turn was… amazing…"

"Do you see, Raiz?" Jamie asked. "My cards worked together to pull that move off. I also thought ahead, and used deductive reasoning to not just find a way to destroy some monsters and deal damage by attacking like crazy, but by using skill and intelligence to get rid of all your monsters in one foul swoop, plus gaining lifepoint advantage. And now, I absorb Darkfire Soldier!" Restrict sucked in, absorbing Raiz's monster and engulfing itself in flames. It now had the same stats as the solider, 1700/1150. "Also, you spend all of your time trying to stall with high attackers, reviving cards, just to break out a Blue-Eyes? A monster like that is easily destroyed by spells and traps, and plus, it's not exactly hard to get a monster as strong as it, or if not that, one that can stop it. Now then, Thousand-Eyes Restrict, deal some damage!" Flames went flying from Jamie's monster's eye, spiraling right at Raiz. He blocked his face, though soon realized that the flames weren't harming him… physically, at least. He looked at the lifepoints. 6300-7400. He was losing… in all categories. "Do you see? There's more to this game than summoning the strongest monster. Your turn."

"And my draw!" Raiz said, placing the top card of his deck into his hand. He looked at his hand, and then at the spell/trap he had facedown on the field. "I'll set a monster and end my turn," he said, placing his monster in defense mode. Jamie smiled and drew.

"That was fast," he said. "Now then, Restrict, let's see an attack, go!" the flames roared towards the set monster. The card was revealed.

"Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000)!" The monster was a huge warrior with crossed arms, each holding a sword. It was made completely out of gray rock. "And now I'll also activate the trap card Destruction Punch! Since my soldier's defense is higher than your monster's attack, your monster's now destroyed, and you lose 300 lifepoints due to the difference in stats. Sweet, huh?" Raiz smiled, the biggest one he'd ever had while dueling. Sure, he's only been in two duels, counting this one, but still, the fact remains. Thousand-Eyes Restrict's flames bounced off of the solider and reflected back, incinerating itself and sparking onto Jamie's lifepoints.6300-7100. "Oh man, this really is the most fun duel ever!"

"Agreed," Jamie said, smiling. "Now then, I'll set a card facedown and end." A spell/trap card appeared on the field, hidden.

"I think we should continue it then," Raiz said, drawing. "I summon Hysteric Fairy!" His monster appeared on the field, a fairy in a business suit. It adjusted its glasses before taking its place on the field. "Now, attack!" The fairy floated up and slapped Jamie with a book for its direct attack. 6300-5300.

"Makes me wonder who's training whom," Jamie said, laughing to himself.

"Your turn, Jamie."

"If you insist, then I draw!" He scanned his hand. "I set a monster in defense mode and one card facedown." His two cards appeared like normal. "And I end my turn."

"Heh, looks like I have you on the defensive," Raiz joked as he began his turn. "I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!" The green spellcaster rose from his lamp, arms crossed, and stared down Jamie's monster. "La Jinn, attack!" The genie punched the set monster, but was stopped by a creepy ghost.

"I used my trap card," Jamie said. "Dark Spirit of the Silent. This little ghost is its effect, negating La Jinn's attack, then forcing another of your monsters to attack instead, and I choose your fairy. Let your Stone Soldier stay in defense mode." Without direction, the fairy rushed forward and struck the set monster. A man carrying a covered carriage was revealed, and then shattered. "And now you meet my next monster, Supply (1300/800)! Now I can add two fusion-material monsters in my graveyard to my hand, and I choose Relinquished and Thousand-Eyes Idol!" The cards emerged from his graveyard. He picked them up, showed them to his opponent, and added them to his hand. Raiz wasn't too worried, as long as he didn't have another ritual card or Polymerization.

"I end my turn."

"Then mine begins!" Jamie declared, ripping a card from his deck top. "And I summon Sonic Bird (1400/1000)." A white and brown bird with goggles and a jetpack appeared on the field. "And with its effect, I can add one Dark Illusion Ritual from my deck to my hand, while I'll now play!" The golden pot appeared again, this time getting Thousand-Eyes Idol thrown into it. "I'll tribute my Idol to summon Relinquished!" The blue ball appeared on the field again, ready to fight. "Then I activate Fissure, a spell card that destroys the weakest monster on your field! So, goodbye Giant Soldier of Stone!" A crack raced across the ground and under the rock man, opening up. The monster fell though and the crack closed. "Now let's absorb La Jinn!" Relinquished sucked and consumed the monster. The vacuum's color became slightly greener and bright green smoke puffed out of random spots of its body at random times.

"Crap…" Raiz said, trying hard not to swear over the dire situation while his parents are around. "Are you even possible to defeat…"

"Not with that deck you have there," Jamie said, smiling. "Ha, I'm kidding. I just happened to make my deck work with Relinquished in all ways. Now then, go my monsters, both attack, Relinquished on that Fairy and Sonic Bird directly!" Green balls of magic blasted into the fairy, some of which went flying back. They hit Relinquished, but only destroyed his green coloring, reducing his attack points back down to nothing. Raiz was panting now, just by the fact that he was losing so badly. The lifepoint and field advantage were both against him, and no card currently in his hand could save him from this one. 4900-5300.

Duelist Name: Jamie Alexander

Blood Type: B

Current Favorite Card: Thousand-Eyes Restrict

End of Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 3

Duel to the Death

Chapter 3: Dueling Skin Deep

Raiz was wobbling, feeling weak. The holograms seemed to be taking energy out of him as his lifepoints went down, but he knew it was all in his head. Only lights scattered across the four alleys in the main bowling alley illuminated the darkness around him. Jamie stood three alleys away, holding his two cards proudly with his Relinquished and Sonic Bird on his field. Raiz had no field. He drew his card, bringing his hand up to five cards. The lifepoints were as follow: Raiz with 4900 and Jamie with 5300.

"I'll draw my card!" Raiz declared, beginning his turn. The situation was dire, but Raiz noticed something. Relinquished had no equipped monsters, it could be destroyed! However… destroying it would cost him lifepoints. He looked at his new card, hoping it was something that could help him decide. No luck. "Screw it,' he said to himself. "I summon 7-Colored Fish!" A long, rainbow fish flashed onto the alley, flashing its sharp teeth. Now he had to decide, the bird or the blob. He figured that Relinquished would just end up absorbing his monster anyway, so he'd take the lifepoint damage regardless of his choice. Might as well save the field advantage. "Fish, attack Relinquished!" He pointed to the strange monster, and the fish obeyed completely. It slashed away at it with its teeth, ripping it to shreds.

"A smart move," Jamie said. "Though my monster's effect transfers the damage to your lifepoints."

"So I've read," he replied sadly. 3100-5300. However, he forced a smile. "But some things are more important than saving your lifepoints, heh heh." Jamie was pleased that the kid was showing signs of learning, and felt bad that he had no choice but to destroy him next turn. "I'll set a facedown card and end my turn." Raiz's backfield was set, and Jamie began his turn.

"I draw," Jamie said, disappointed. "I'm sorry, but now it's time for me to win. I play Change of Heart, a spell card that gives me your fish!" The 7-Colored Fish was sent to Jamie's field. He sighed. "Now I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (1800/700)." To the field came what resembled a human clothed in purple robes. Part of his face was badly burned and he was holding some red beads. Overall, not a very intimidating monster, but judging from his stats, he was still powerful. "Just two of these monsters can destroy you. It's obvious that the victory is mine. Quite a shame, really. Kycoo, you first, attack. Sorry, Raiz."

"Don't feel too bad," he said, smiling. "I activate Mirror Force!" The trap card that had failed him against Taylor was now saving him here. Kycoo dashed forward, raising his beads to strike with them. He brought them down, but hit a clear barrier. The beads shot back, bursting through him, and splitting in mid air. Their all rained down, pulverizing the other monsters. All three were sent to their respective graveyards. "This trap card destroys all attack-mode monsters your control," he pointed out, still smiling.

"Holy…" Jamie stopped. He took some deep breaths, regaining his calmness. He laughed. "Good move, Raiz! I guess the duel's not over yet!"

"Far from it," he replied. Raiz had complete advantage card-wise. Jamie's only card was the one he had in his hand, while Raiz held three. Both had no field, and it was the end of Jamie's turn.

"I'll keep this one for later," he said, smiling. "Which means it's your go."

"Alright then," Raiz said cheerfully. He scanned his hand. He couldn't believe it, the duel was practically his! "I activate a spell card, one I just got, Graceful Charity! This card lets me draw three cards from my deck, then I have to discard two of them." He picked up his three cards. "I'll discard Giant Trunade and Muka Muka. Then I'll summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600)!" A humanoid covered in black iron crashed down onto the bowling alley, a crash that would've destroyed the lane if it weren't by a hologram. It stood up straight, revealing blades attached to its arms. "Gearfried, attack!" The monster ran forward with amazing speed, regardless of the fact that it was covered in heavy armor. It lifted its arm and slashed with its arm blade. Perhaps it was only for showmanship, but Jamie covered his head and ducked down, grunting. 3100-3500.

"Man, Raiz," he said, laughing as usual. "Are you sure this is only your second duel ever? Seriously, for a newbie, you've sure managed to impress me."

"That's the plan," he replied. "Now then, I'll set a facedown to keep you guessing, and end my turn." Raiz's field was set, and he felt like victory was in his grasp.

Until Jamie started laughing again, this time more evilly. "Heh heh, I'm done messing around now," he said. "I'm no longer going to feel sorry about defeating you!" he declared, glaring. "You've awakened by competitive side, and now, it's my turn to draw, and destroy you!" He swiped his top card, immediately placing it on his Duel Disk. "Go, Pot of Greed! The card itself isn't terribly hard to pull out of a pack, but they sure are expensive. The reason is the free advantage this card gives me. By activating it, you see, I'm allowed to draw two cards from my deck!" He put his pot in the graveyard and drew two more cards. "Now I'll simply set this card facedown and end my turn," he said, placing a defense on his field.

"Then I'll draw," Raiz declared, slightly worried about Jamie's 'competitive side.' "And I'll summon Harpie's Brother (1800/600)!" A tall birdman flew onto the lane. He had on black clothing that matched his spiky hair. His wings were huge and covered with red feathers. "Attack the facedown!" The birdman raced forward and punched the hidden card. A young girl with pink hair appeared, then shattered.

"Magician of Faith (300/400). When this monster is flipped up, such as when attacked, I get to add a spell card in my graveyard to my hand, and I choose Pot of Greed!" His spell returned form the graveyard, and he proudly added it to his hand.

"Gearfried, attack!" The monster rushed forward. "Now I activate my facedown, Rush Recklessly! This quick-play spell card increases my monster's power by 700!" The slash was performed, dealing a massive 2500 points of damage to Jamie's lifepoints. 3100-1000. "Heh, now what?" Raiz mocked. Jamie hardly budged.

"Now I win?" Jamie asked, laughing maniacally. "Don't you get that this is all going according to plan?"

"Yeah, right," Raiz said, annoyed. "It's your turn."

"And my win!" He called out, drawing. "Go, Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards from his deck. "Ah, so many cards, and I only need two. Let's begin with this amazingly rare spell card, Snatch Steal! This card becomes equipped to your monster, and then it becomes mine! Now, bring me the Harpie!" On the field appeared a burglar. He ran forward, grabbed up Harpie's Brother, and ran him back to Jamie. "Now your monster is mine until Snatch Steal's destroyed. You do get 1000 lifepoints during each of your Standby Phases now, but that's a minor cost. And now, the final card I'll exhaust all duel, Premature Burial! Now I pay 800 lifepoints and revive, from my graveyard, my Relinquished!" 3100-200. Jamie's lifepoints were almost depleted, but then a grave emerged from his alley. Out from the front of it emerged that beast, the almighty Relinquished. Raiz knew the rule; since it was summoned fair and square previously, it could be revived from the graveyard. Not fun. "Now, Relinquished, absorb Gearfried!" The blob started to suck. The Iron Knight resisted, but couldn't hold off forever. It was sucked into the stomach of the monster. Relinquished became covered in its black plates. It was a very intimidating, yet extremely cool looking, monster. "Now, Harpie's Brother, you start! Attack!" The bird man, unable to control itself, rushed forward and punched Raiz. 1300-200. "And finally, Relinquished, FINISH HIM!" Jamie held out his hand, his arm fully extended, signaling the attack. Two blades burst out of Relinquished's body. The creature started to spin, very quickly. It then shot itself forward. The blades seemed to slice right through Raiz as they reduced his lifepoints.

"No…" Raiz said, dropping to his knees, a move which caused him to slip on the well-lubed alley and fall to his back. He checked his Duel Disk. 0-200. The holographs faded, and Jamie sighed, returning to his normal, cheerful self. Taylor laughed to himself.

"That kid will never win a duel," he said, smiling. "Let alone against me."

Jamie came over to Raiz's house more often, claiming to be seeing his sister, but spending all the time helping out her brother. This went on for about two months.

"There," Jamie said, pleased with the new deck he and Raiz assembled. "This is by far more powerful than your last deck. It has a nice combination of powerful flip effect monsters and high attackers, not to mention dangerous spell and trap cards. You should be able to destroy your cousin with these." Having just put in some finishing touches, Jamie handed Raiz his deck.

"Awesome," he responded, taking it. "He's coming over tomorrow for a quick visit, my parents need his parents' help moving a piano into the living room. There'll be plenty of time for a duel."

"Just don't underestimate him," Jamie warned. "Your deck's gotten much stronger, but I'm positive his has as well. You still don't own any particularly amazing cards…"

"Oh, that reminds me!" Raiz ran over to his bed and pulled out from under it a square tin cardholder. "I got some new cards yesterday, take a look." Jamie took the tin and removed the lid, setting it aside. He removed from it five cards. "Chain Destruction… probably not a great idea." He placed the trap card back in the tin. "Oh wow, Raigeki. Definitely in." He handed it to Raiz. "Swords of Revealing Light… again, a great choice." Smiling, Raiz took that card as well. "Next we have Asura Priest (1700/1200), which isn't really that great. However, I guess it can destroy Scapegoat tokens easily… but we don't have room, sorry." He placed that card down on top of Chain Destruction. "And finally…" He stopped, staring at the card. He looked up at Raiz, who was smiling.

"Replacing Blue-Eyes?" he asked. Jamie nodded.

"Replacing Blue-Eyes."

Jamie left soon afterwards, leaving Raiz alone to edit his deck slightly. He could find nothing else to do; the deck was as good as it could be with his current cards. Outside, he heard a car pull up. He waited, and sure enough, crashing in came Taylor.

"'Sup Raiz!" he yelled, his green Duel Disk already on his arm with a deck loaded. "How ya been, cuz?" He rushed forward and held out his fist. Raiz made a fist as well and met his.

"Pretty good," he replied. "Recently finished my new deck."

"Sweet, me too!" Taylor replied quickly and excitedly. "Come on, I've been itching to duel all week! Let's go!" Annoying…

"Right away?" Raiz asked. "Come on, let's at least… well… you know… relax a bit first."

"NO!" his cousin shouted. Raiz knew what this was. Something about his deck was truly amazing to him, and he didn't want to wait another second to test it. "Come, to the pool!" Raiz had a pool. It was about 12 feet deep at the deepest point and about 30 feet long total. It was an underground pool, so there were a lot of leaves and junk floating in it and sticking to the bottom. Taylor took now time running out there. The diving board at the deepest end had been taken down, since they were going to get a new one soon, leaving two even sides to be on. Raiz took the shallow end, since Taylor had already situated himself where the old board used to be.

"Okay fine," Raiz said, annoyed. "We're here."

"Awesome" Taylor said, grinning and turning on his Duel Disk. "Prepare to Duel!" He called. A die was rolled, the result a 2.

"Duel on!" Raiz replied, rolling a 4. "I draw!" and so it started. 8000-8000. "I set a monster and a facedown, and it's your move." The cards appeared on the field, just as he declared.

"Then I'll draw!" Taylor looked at his cards, trying to decide the best course of action. "I summon Opticlops (1800/1700)!" A brown fiend emerged on the field with only one eye and a red horn jetting out of its head.

"Go, trap card!" Raiz called out happily. "Bottomless Trap Hole! This card activates when you summon a monster and removes that monster from the game!"

"Shit!" Taylor called, angrily placing his Opticlops in the slot just below the graveyard. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn," Raiz said, drawing. "And I play Mystical space Typhoon! This spell card will now destroy your facedown!" Dark clouds formed overhead. Out of them shot a lightning bolt, aimed at the facedown card. It hit, and the Mirror Force was destroyed.

"Holy shit…" Taylor swore. "You little…"

"Now," Raiz interrupted, "I flip my facedown monster, Harpie's Brother!" The familiar red birdman landed on the field, obviously smiling beneath the bandana covering his mouth. "Now I summon up my old friend, La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!" A golden lamp plopped onto the field. Out of it poured green smoke, and with the smoke came forth the green genie we all know and love. Two 1800 attackers against an empty field. "Now, attack!" The two monsters rushed forward, each delivering a powerful punch to their target. 8000-4400.

"You dirty cheater!" he yelled. "There's no way you can pull off moves like that!"

"I just did," Raiz announced happily. "Your turn." Taylor was pissed beyond comprehension, and was not about to give up the duel without a fight.

End of Chapter 3.


	4. Chapter 4

Duel to the Death

Chapter 4: Check Out These Guns

The big rematch, Raiz vs. Taylor. Raiz had three cards in hand, Harpie's, Brother and La Jinn on the field, and 8000 lifepoints. Taylor, on the other hand, had no field, four cards in hand, and 4400 lifepoints. The field was a large underground pool.

"I end my turn," Raiz said, a smile on his face. He'd only had two turns, but already his victory was practically guaranteed. Taylor was steaming with anger, which often became a bad thing for his opponent.

"I draw!" He yelled, picking up his card. "I summon Hayabusa Knight (1000/700)!" A small humanoid with a bird's beak appeared on the field. It was holding a long rapier. "My monster's effect allows it to attack twice in one turn, and so I'll activate Axe of Despair! This extremely rare equip spell gives my monster 1000 more attack points!" The monster's sword was replaced with a huge wooden axe. "Now, Hayabusa Knight, destroy both of his monsters!" The warrior dashed forward and vertically slashed through both monsters. 7600-4400. "And now I end my turn." Taylor was beginning to calm down now, having gained total advantage.

"I draw," Raiz said as he drew. "And… I think I'll set a monster in defense mode. Go." His hidden monster appeared. Taylor laughed. His Hayabusa Knight was about to inflict some fun 4000 points of damage, and it was going to rock.

"I'll draw and summon Spear Dragon (1900/0)!" A blue, winged dragon was summoned. It had a long spear for a mouth. "This monster shifts to defense mode after it attacks, but it makes up for that with its other effect. When it attacks a monster, you still take damage based on your monster's defense points! Attack!" The dragon glided forward, stopped in front of the facedown, and impaled it. A miniature tree with a bloated stump appeared. "Wha- what the hell is that?!?!" Raiz laughed quietly to himself.

"Meet Fiber Jar (500/500). I still take your damage, but then my monster's effect kicks in, shuffling every card in out hands, fields, graveyards and decks back into one, and then we each draw five new cards." 6200-4400. Snarling, Taylor obeyed the effect. He shuffled every one of his cards back, and Raiz did the same. They each drew five.

"Dammit, I can't do anything…" He was in a fix. Since he had already summoned that turn, and he had drawn no traps, the duel was looking bleak. "Go."

"You're so cold," Raiz laughed, drawing a card. "I summon Thunder Nyan-Nyan (1900/800) to the field!" He remembered back to the deck construction. Jamie had explained to him that Nyan was one of his favorite cards, and let him borrow three for this duel. The memory took only a second, as he was watching when she appeared on the field. In light blue tiger-print pants, orange tiger-print gloves and top, red hair with two small horns sticking out and coming equipped with a full drum set, Thunder Nyan-Nyan looked like the Thunder Cats meet Josie and the Pussycats. She was an adorable monster, and ready to fight. She played a quick, exciting beat on her drum set, then prepared to attack when told. "Nyan, go, attack Taylor directly!" She giggled, flipped a drumstick in mid air, then threw it. Electricity pulsated around it as it made contact with Taylor, damaging his lifepoints. 6200-2500.

"Man…" Taylor panted. "That thing is way too powerful…"

"Well…" Raiz said nervously. "She does have a downside. If I control a monster that's not Light… then she's destroyed…" A tear formed in Nyan-Nyan's eye. She gently wiped it away, looked up, and smiled, flashing her sharp catlike teeth. "Your move."

"Damn you…" Taylor said quietly. "I will NOT lose this!" He got loud again. "I will win this duel! I draw!" He made no effort to calm down. He was sweating bullets from his anger, and simply used this to duel more intensely. "I'll set a monster and activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Three swords of burning white light appeared around Raiz and his field. "Now, for three of your turns, you can't attack! Take that!" he laughed. "I'll end!"

"Then I'll draw," Raiz said, not discouraged at all. "And I summon another Nyan-Nyan." A second drumming cat appeared on the field, giggling. "I have three of these cute kitties in my deck, so I wouldn't be relaxing if I were you. I end my turn." Taylor was relieved to save his monster and would be sure to put its presence to good use.

"You're gonna be destroyed," he said, laughing. "I refuse to lose. I draw!" He picked up another card for his hand. The first light sword disappeared. "Now I tribute my facedown Cave Dragon (2000/100) to set a monster." A green dragon appeared, then faded away as a hidden card appeared on the field. "Your move." The duel was at a boring standoff, but that will certainly change soon.

"I draw!" Raiz said as he began. "Then I play Graceful Charity! I now draw three cards!" He picked up three cards from his deck, then showed two of them to Taylor. "And I'll discard 7-Colored Fish and Harpie's Brother. Next I tribute my two Nyans to summon my most powerful monster!"

"That damned Blue-Eyes," Taylor laughed. "Even that won't save you now." Raiz grinned.

"Wrongo, this monster is much more awesome. I summon Barrel Dragon (2600/2200)!" It seemed unnatural appearing over the pool, but there was the large black dragon with three powerful, glowing gun barrels protruding from its body, one from its head and two from its side. "This monster's ability is what makes it shine! I may now flip three coins, and if at least two are heads, your monster's destroyed!" Taylor stopped laughing. In fact, he stopped smiling altogether. Anger started to return to him.

"No… way…" was all he could manage to say.

"Poor Taylor," Raiz mocked. "Barrel Dragon, go!" Three large, golden coins appeared on the field. They all sprung into the air, spinning. They landed, one by one. Heads, Heads, Tails. "Heh, two heads," Raiz pointed out. "Go!" Barrel Dragon fired three shots, one from each barrel, and each aimed at the set monster. Labyrinth Wall was revealed and destroyed. "And that's the power of my almighty Barrel Dragon! Your move!" The second sword of light faded into nothingness. Taylor drew.

"I'm ending this duel, right now," he said. "I AM SICK OF YOU! I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck!" he swiped up his two cards into his hand. "Now I activate Delinquent Duo!" Two small goblins appeared on the field, their tongues hanging out. "Now I pay 1000 lifepoints to randomly discard 1 card in your hand, and then force you to select and discard another!" Both pf the goblins rushed forward. One of them tapped a random card in Raiz's hand. He discarded La Jinn. The second goblin was on his shoulder, making faces. Raiz ditched his Master Kyonshee (1750/1000) to the graveyard. 6200-1500.

"Not a big deal," he said, shrugging it off. "I still have my Barrel Dragon, poised and ready to destroy you."

"Fissure," Taylor said, smiling. A large crack raced across the pool, pulling down his machine.

"Man, not another one of those," Raiz said, sighing.

"And now it gets worse," Taylor laughed. "This is it! I win! Now I summon my ultimate card, Yata-Garasu (200/100)!" Onto the field flew a very small, purple crow with a black beak. It lifted its wing and nipped under it, looking like it was getting some bugs. In all… it wasn't very intimidating.

"What… the… hell…" Raiz said, staring. He brought himself to check the card database. Yata returns to Taylor's hand at the end phase, a nice touch. And… when it inflicts damage, Raiz can't draw. No big deal. "Wait…" Maybe it was a big deal.

"Yata, Attack!" the crow darted forward, jamming into Raiz. 6000-1500. "Your move." Yata flew back into Taylor's hand. Raiz… well… didn't draw. He regretted discarding that Kyonshee. He couldn't make any moves… he was…

"Locked," Taylor said. "You now can't do anything. As I continue to draw, I'll get some revival cards to help take you out quickly, so don't worry about the fact that it'd normally take thirty more turns to destroy you. I'll easily pull off reducing your lifepoints." It was over. He was locked. Too upset for words, Raiz pressed the small red button above his deck.

The button to surrender.

Who's On First was the closest card shop to where Raiz lived. It was very close to his school, and he often walked there after class. He always lost there, he seemed to simply be behind the times. The shop owner was Devon, a middle-aged man with graying hair. He often brought his daughter, Kori, to the shop. She was a very young girl, couldn't be more than 10 years old. Raiz put the last of his money into a couple of packs, praying for some good cards.

"So you still can't beat that cousin of yours, eh? Ha ha." Devon talked in a deep voice, and was always jolly, regardless of how terrible situations were. "Ah, no worries, it's just a card game."

"Yeah…" Raiz replied, sighing. "But I can't seem to win. I'm considering just giving up…"

"No!" Devon said forcefully. "Give it another chance. Do some buying and trading today, and use the new cards to beat your cousin, ha ha, then tell me how you feel." Raiz sighed again.

"Deal," he said, opening three packs of cards. "Junk… junk… Exiled Force… not bad."

"See? You already have one new, powerful card! Ha ha ha!"

"It won't be enough to finish him off quickly, before that Yata-Garasu gets to me." He laughed a little. Devon smiled. "That's all my money. I'm out. Sorry, Devon." As he walked towards the door, however, he was stopped. A small hand was tugging at his shirt. He turned and looked down. Standing there, her blonde hair in pigtails and wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans was Kori, tugging on his shirt.

"Um… hew…" she said in a tiny voice. She handed him a single pack of cards. "I hope you dwaw the cauds you need…" Smiling, Raiz kneeled down, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That's very sweet of you," he said. "But you keep it. I don't want to take your cards."

"It's from me," said a voice coming from the left. Raiz turned towards the small table, and there was someone around his own age sitting, shuffling through his deck. He was Hispanic with short, black hair. His shirt had a whip on it. "'Sup. My name's Bolu, but everyone calls me Silencio. I already bought the pack, and I'm not taking it back. That cousin of yours sounds like a jerk, and I have a feeling that that pack will help you put him in his place." Silencio smiled. Raiz walked over and sat down.

"Shall we see what I got, then?" he asked.

"Yup, let's," Silencio said cheerfully. "Good luck, man!" He held out his hand. Raiz shook it.

"Thanks…" he said, grateful yet confused. He opened it upside-down, leaving all cards hidden. He moved the top four cards to the bottom, then placed the fifth to the side. "The middle card is always the rare," he said. He revealed the other cards, one by one. After all eight, it was official that the commons in that pack sucked.

"That sucks," Silencio said, still cheerful. "Come on come on come on," he said. "Let's see the rare! I betcha it's awesome! Come on!" Annoyed by this new guy, Raiz obliged. He flipped the rare card over.

"Oh… my…" Raiz stared.

"Whooie!" Silencio whooped. "Now THAT is guaranteed to destroy your cousin! Ha! We had a deal, Devon, and you owe me three free packs now!" A… bet? Devon tossed Silencio the packs he won. He placed a couple in front of Raiz. "There ya go. I still paid for the price of one pack to get two, even if I don't get those. Let's hope for more luck!" He used the same technique to open those packs and pulled two more very rare, though not useful, cards. Silencio seemed to need them, though, as he traded two weaker, yet still just as rare cards, for each of them. Trading ensued the entire shop. Soon, Raiz's deck was nothing like it had been.

"Oh wow," he said, putting his last card into new sleeves. Forty red sleeves, forty powerful cards. There was no way this deck would lose.

"Wanna duel?" Silencio asked, practically bouncing from anticipation.

"No thanks," Raiz said, overjoyed. "I'm saving my first win for Taylor."

That night, Raiz called Taylor, telling him to get his sorry ass over to the card shop the next day. With those new cards in tow, Raiz was confident, and was going to show the entire shop that he could beat people. He just hoped it wouldn't turn out like the last time he got such confidence…

Duelist Name: Taylor Ralmz

Occupation: Professional Bastard

Favorite Card: Yata-Garasu

End of Chapter 4.


	5. Chapter 5

Duel to the Death

Chapter 5: Blood and Blossoms

The day of the big duel arrived. Raiz was completely prepared from yesterday's card gathering session, and he knew that Taylor wouldn't stand a chance. He awoke early and quickly showered and consumed some breakfast. He still had two hours before he even had to leave, and he wanted to use as much of that time as possible to make certain that his deck was at its maximum power. His cards were organized across his floor, divided into sections by monsters, spells and traps. He had all of the optional card choices in his hand, and he was shuffling through them.

"Everything looks good," Raiz said, stretching. "Heh, this is going to be total domination." He stood and walked over to his computer. He had posted his deck on some online forums, and was eager to see what comments had been left. The screen was black from standing too long, so he shook the mouse a little. The forums appeared, but hiding part of them was a new instant message from someone he didn't recognize, someone named 'Y.M.'

_You're missing the duel of the century. Get over here._

"Oh man…" Raiz said, quickly grabbing up his deck. He got his backpack of cards all ready and ran down to the shop. He had a feeling he shouldn't go, but his interest overwhelmed him. As he approached the shop, a burst of black light exploded from the doors.

"No! Please!" he heard someone yell. It sounded like Taylor's voice… Quickly, he burst in. Lying on the ground, seeming to be unconscious, was Taylor. Above him stood a tall, buff man. He was wearing a skin-tight, sleeveless black shirt and torn blue jeans. On his left cheek was a huge scar. His eyes seemed to pierce everything they looked at; their color was almost red.

"You…" the mystery man said. His voice was deep and booming. "This kid was here to duel you. He challenged me to warm-up. His soul is mine." Raiz was confused and scared… but mostly confused.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked. "And what did you do to Taylor?"

"I am Resmund," he said. "The kid lost to me, so I stole his soul." Resmund held up a necklace with a purple stone in it. It looked like it was filled with swirling while gas. "His soul is in this gem. Defeat me, then maybe I shall release him." The brute threw the necklace into the air. It stopped at the roof and stuck. A ring of electricity rotated down from it, surrounding the two duelists. "But if you are the loser, these shocky rings will envelop you and carry you into a new gem, and I shall have two new souls. Yay for me." Resmund clicked his red Duel Disk on, and Raiz clicked his black Duel Disk on. He wasn't thrilled to be dueling for his life, but with those electric rings surrounding him, he had no choice. "Duel Time!" A die rolled, and the result was a four.

"Let's begin! Duel!" Raiz's die landed on six. "Then I'll begin. I draw!" They each drew their starting hands, and then Raiz drew his sixth card. 8000-8000. "I'll set a monster and a card facedown!" Two hidden cards, one to the front line and one to the back row, appeared on the field. "Your go!"

"Amusing," Resmund said as he drew his card. I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) to the field!" A human warrior with two sharp-looking swords appeared on the field. "When this monster is summoned, I'm allowed to special summon another monster from my hand, and I choose my Boar Soldier (2000/500)!" Accompanying his monster came a humanoid pig in armor holding a stone mallet. "Sadly, my monster loses 1000 ATK points since you have a monster on the field. But that won't last long. Captain, attack!" The warrior slashed at the set monster.

"You attacked my Nimble Momonga (1000/100)!" Raiz pointed out as a flying squirrel appeared on the field, just to explode into oblivion. "When this monster is destroyed in battle, I gain 1000 lifepoints, and I set to set two more Momonga from my deck onto the field!" Raiz searched his deck and found his other two squirrels. He set them onto the field, then shuffled his deck and placed it back into the duel disk.

"Boar Soldier, destroy one!" The giant pig slammed down and killed another squirrel. 10000-8000. "Now I'll set a facedown and end my turn." A hidden card appeared behind Resmund's monsters.

"My go!" Raiz declared, drawing. "Now I tribute my Momonga for Freed the Matchless General (2300/1700)!" A knight in blue armor with long blonde hair appeared on the field. It wielded the sword that was mounted on its back. "This monster can't be targeted by spell cards, and allows me to add a Warrior to my hand each turn instead of drawing! Now, Freed, attack the Boar!"

"Trap card!" Resmund called out. "Reverse Trap! This card switches all increases and decreases of ATK and DEF points for the turn, which means my Boar Soldier gains 1000 ATK due to his effect! Now my monster has 3000 ATK points!" Freed's sword was blocked by the stone hammer. The giant pig knocked the pathetic weapon back and bashed the 'matchless' general over the head. The sword went flying and slashed Raiz's arm. It started to bleed. 9300-8000.

"What the…" he started to say, grasping his arm. "That… that was real!" Resmund simply laughed. It was a terrifying laugh that truck darkness into the hearts of everyone in the shop.

"Welcome to the Blood Duel," he said. "As you lose lifepoints, you lose portions of your own life. The intensity of this particular game is low, as it can be heard to retrieve souls from dead bodies. The problem is, though, that you increased your lifepoints. This means you have more pain to take." He laughed again. "Now then, it's still your turn."

"I'll end," Raiz said, setting no protection, or even a bluff.

"Excellent. I draw." Resmund was pleased at how well the duel was going. That's when three police cops barged in, guns held up and pointing at him. "Oh, goodie."

"Stop right there!" the one in front yelled. He turned to Devon. "Is this the man you called about?"

"Ha ha, yup, that's him alright," Devon replied. "But I'd suggest you stay out of this." The police had no plan on what to do anyway. Multiple electric rings threatened to possibly reflect their bullets. One of them ran over to Taylor.

"This kid is badly cut," he said. "What the hell happened?"

"We have no idea," Devon told them. "For some reason, every time they lose points in this card game, the holograms actually hurt the kids." The cop near Taylor felt for a pulse.

"He has no pulse," he explained. He lifted his eyes. They weren't rolled back into his head, all the color was there, but his pupils were pearl white. "What the hell… I've never seen or heard of anything like this! The kid's like an empty shell!"

"That's right!" Resmund laughed. "That necklace up there," he pointed, "contains the kid's soul! Only if this other kid can defeat me will it return!"

"This guy's a damn psycho," the third cop said. Resmund smiled.

"Then maybe you need a demonstration of real Shadow Magic!" he barked, snapping his fingers. A small ring of electricity shot out of the necklace and broke into a string. It entangled that annoying cop, causing purple smoke to rise from him.

"Gah! What the fuck is…" was all the cop got out before the rope squeezed even tighter, causing him to cough up blood. Resmund snapped his fingers again and the electricity returned to the necklace, dropping the cop to his knees, blood blasting from his mouth with every cough.

"Now then," Resmund said, turning back to Raiz. "I believe I was about to summon my Warrior Dai Grepher (1700/1600) to the field!" A buff warrior with a shirt similar to Resmund's appeared, wielding a huge blue sword. "Now, attack, my monsters! You first, Marauding Captain!" The warrior dashed forward and slashed, only to hit a clear barrier. Raiz smiled.

"This is my Mirror Force," he declared. "And now it'll destroy every attack-mode monster you control!" The captain's sword flew backwards, slashing through all of the monsters.

"Well played," Resmund congratulated. "I'll end." His field was wide open, time to make it count!

"I draw!" Raiz called out. "Now I activate Monster Reborn! Now I can bring back any monster from the graveyard, and I choose my Freed the Matchless General!" The powerful warrior rose again, ready to get revenge. "Then I summon my Gemini Elf (1900/900) to the field!" Resmund stepped back, amazed.

"Ah… the strongest four-star normal monster in the game!" he declared. "Impressive!"

"It's about to get more impressive!" Raiz informed him. "I activate the field spell card Gaia Power!" Huge trees appeared randomly around the arena. They were see-through, however, so the duel wasn't obstructed. "This field spell increases the ATK of all Earth monsters by 500, while decreasing their DEF by 400. This means that Freed now has 2800 ATK points and my Elves have 2400! Attack!" The two monsters rushed forward, Freed slashing away and the Elves punching away. Resmund felt the effects. His shirt split open, revealing a huge gash across his stomach. Blood trickled from his lips down his chin from the constant punches to the wounded stomach that the Elves gave him. Regardless, he smiled. 9300-2800.

"Very, very nice move," he complimented. "Now it'll be even more painful when you lose, both emotionally AND physically. Now then, is that it?" Raiz nodded.

"That's it. Your go."

"Then I draw!" The brute drew his card and was immediately happy. "I activate Raigeki!" Huge bolts of lightning struck down from the necklace overhead, destroying both of Raiz's monsters. "A very powerful card, eh?" he laughed. "Now I activate a Monster Reborn of my own!"

"No!" Raiz yelled. "Not my Freed!"

"No worries," Resmund said, smiling. "My target is in my own graveyard, my Warrior Dai Grepher!" The blue-sword warrior made its comeback into the field, poised to fight. "Next I activate the spell card Polymerization! This card will allow me to fuse my warrior with the Spirit Ryu (1000/1000) dragon card in my hand! Now, come forth, Ryu Senshi (2000/1200)!" A purple dragon appeared on the field, and behind it a vortex. The two monsters got sucked in. As the vortex started to fade away, it took on a humanoid shape, then turned into a monster. It looked just like Dai Grepher, but with purple dragon skin for armor and a head cover. "And since my monster's an Earth attribute one, it gains 500 ATK points, bringing him up to 2500! Then I summon a different Spirit Ryu!" The purple dragon was back. Resmund gave his heart-threatening laugh again. "Attack!" Ryu Senshi slashed Raiz hard with his sword while Spirit Ryu bit his already cut arm hard. 3500 points of damage. Raiz could hardly get his arm to move, and the sword slash down his right shoulder didn't ease the pain one bit. 5800-2800.

"Damn…" he said, struggling just to hold onto his hand. "This… ugh…" He coughed. "This is not going as well as it seemed to be last turn…" he looked at his hand. No monsters.

"It's your turn!" Resmund called out triumphantly. "Make it count!"

"I will! My go!" The yelling hurt Raiz's throat. He took his drawing fingers off of his deck to grasp his neck and massage it a little. He drew. "Urk… I'll activate Fissure… to destroy your Spirit Ryu…" he coughed again, placing the card into his Duel Disk. The crack raced across the ground and sucked the dragon in with a powerful wind. "Now… I'll set two facedowns and end…" He couldn't stand any longer; he dropped to a knee. Carefully, he placed his two hidden spell or trap cards into the device. "Now then, let's… see your go…"

"Gladly!" Resmund said, smiling widely. "I draw!" He glanced quickly at the new card. "Ha! Perfect! I summon Twin-Headed behemoth (1500/1200!" A new purple dragon appeared, this one with legs and two serpentine heads bursting out of the upper part of its body, where its arms would be expected to be. Where its head would normally be was a large purple spike.

"Trap!" Raiz cried out, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. "Torrential Tribute! This trap will destroy all the monsters in play!" He managed to stand, smiling. "See ya, little guys."

"I'll use Ryu Senshi's effect!" Resmund said, enjoying Raiz's worried look. "Now I pay 1000 lifepoints to negate your Torrential Tribute!" The worried look turned to terror. All of his options were gone… 5800-1800.

"No… way…" he said, stumbling in place.

"Yes way," Resmund mocked. "Senshi, you first, attack!"

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" Raiz said, still nervous. "My target is my own Gaia Power!" The spell card caused a huge, black, swirling vortex to appear overhead, shooting bolts of lightning. It struck every tree, completely obliterating them. Senshi hit, slashing straight down this time. Raiz's head was forced onto his Duel Disk, hitting hard and leaving a scratch on his forhead. 3800-1800. "Heh… at least my spell card destroyed my field spell… so I don't take as much damage…"

"We'll see," Resmund said, not losing an ounce of confidence. "Behemoth, go!" the dragon flew forward. Its heads aligned and pointed them at Raiz, spewing red and black fire into his face. It was very hot, and his cheeks got burnt. 2300-1800. "It's over. You may have more lifepoints than me, but the field is completely mine! There's no longer any way for you to win, especially since I've worn out every useful card in that hand of yours!" He let out the laugh a third time, so dark that everyone in the shop had to cover their ears to keep from going insane. "Your move. Make it count, because it'll be your last!" Raiz was shaking, but he still stood.

"I'm not done yet…" he said, forcing a smile. "I know it's sad, as in pathetic, but I've never won a duel in my life. Your deck just might be the most powerful one I've faced yet… maybe…" he coughed, still smiling. "But I've won this duel. I've had help from friends…" He scanned the room and located Silencio, who was giving him a thumbs-up. "And training from enemies…" He looked at Taylor's empty shell, then up at the necklace. "And I refuse to let it all go to waste. I trust my cards, and my next card won't be my last, just the last one of this duel. MY GO!" He drew. He wasn't fearful, hopeful, confident, anything like that. He knew, before he even looked at the card, that he had one. He gave it a glance and smiled. It was the card he drew from that pack Silencio bought for him, the one Kori had personally handed to him, from the confidence that Devon had given, in vein of Taylor. He smiled at Resmund and laughed lightly.

"What's so funny?" he asked. "Tell me what you drew!"

"I won't tell you," he said. "I'll show you. I summon my strongest monster, Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500)!" In a huge flash of light, a young girl appeared, hugging her knees. Her eyes were closed, partially covered by her long, curly, red hair. Beautiful wings magically appeared from her back, spreading majestically. Her eyes opened, and she uncurled her body. Her hair fell back behind her, and on her face was a smile more innocent than anything anyone had ever seen. In a second flash of light, a huge, and I mean huge, needle appeared in front of her. She grabbed it, giggling.

"That's it?" Resmund asked, barking loudly. "That's it?! HA!" Now it was Raiz's turn to laugh at him.

"My Lily has a special ability," he explained. "By paying 2000 lifepoints before Damage Calculation, she gains 3000 ATK points! And since I'm paying it as a cost, my guess is that I won't take a bit of pain, is that right?" Resmund growled. Yup, that was right. "Lily, attack the Behemoth! Pump and pummel!" The spellcaster drew back her needle, filling it with a blue liquid out of nowhere. She flew up and swept down perfectly, impaling right through the Behemoth. "Lily currently has 3400 ATK points, and your Behemoth has 1500. That's a difference of 1900, and you only have 1800 lifepoints!"

"What…" was all that Resmund got out before the explosion of the dragon caused him to fall back. 300-0. The electrical rings disappeared, along with the duel holograms. A flash of light shot out of the necklace, hitting Taylor. The cop nearest him checked his pulse. He sighed with relief. The whole shop was looking at Taylor with joy, and had momentarily forgotten about Resmund. They all turned, and he had already ran off.

And that is how this story began. The n00b that became strong and defeated a great evil, the confidence that was given, and the special card that would continue to change his life for years to come.

Duelist Name: Raiz Darr

Favorite Milkshake Flavor: Cookie-Dough

Favorite Card: Injection Fairy Lily

End of Chapter 5.


	6. Chapter 6

Duel to the Death

Chapter 6: Seridan

It seemed like it happened simply weeks ago to Raiz and Silencio, even though it was, in truth, a few years ago. Resmund's Blood Duel was all too fresh in everyone's minds, and the fact that something like that even existed in the world made many people at the card shop in a state of constant worry, always keeping an eye out. Most, however, didn't fear the return of the Blood Duel, not for a second. Raiz had become a very powerful duelist over the passing years, and was now middle-class around the card shop.

Duelist Name: Bolu "Silencio"

Appearance: Hispanic with messy black hair. Not very tall, not very attractive, likes to wear shirts that feature his nickname on them.

Favorite Card: Sasuke Samurai

"It's time to duel!" Silencio declared, drawing his first five cards. He and Raiz were dueling on a table, as the duel disks can become somewhat tiring.

"Let's go! Duel!" Raiz said, drawing six cards. "I'll begin my turn by setting a monster and a facedown! Your go!" Silencio eyed the two hidden cards on the field, trying to guess what they might be.

"I draw, then summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000)!" He placed the multi-armed green priest on the field. "This card allows me to add either a Ritual Spell or a Ritual Monster to my hand, as you know." He picked up his deck and flashed Raiz the card he chose. "My choice is Advanced Ritual Art, which I'll now play! My target is the Dark Master – Zorc (2700/1500) in my hand! Now I get to ritual summon him by discarding normal monsters from my deck!" again, he searched his deck, placing down five cards. "I'll choose Right Arm of the Forbidden One (200/300), Right Leg of the Forbidden One (200/300), Left Arm of the Forbidden One (200/300), Charcoal Inpachi (100/2100) and Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100). Now, go, Zorc!" He threw down the powerful, black fiend. Now I activate his effect! Dice roll!" He picked up a die and rolled it. A four. "That means I get to destroy one monster on your field, and of course I choose your facedown!" Raiz flashed his Legendary Jujitsu Master (1300/1800) before placing it in the graveyard. "Zorc, Manju, attack!" Raiz typed some numbers into his calculator. 3900-8000. "Now I'll activate two Dark Factory of Mass Production, and add my three Exodia parts and my Inpachi to my hand! Your move." It was obvious that he had the four normal parts of Exodia in his hand, and then there was the matter of his powerful monsters.

"In your end phase," Raiz explained. "I'll activate Scapegoat." He placed four Sheep Tokens (0/0) on the field. "Now I draw. I'll activate Smashing Ground, a spell card that destroys your monster with the highest DEF, which means Zorc." Silencio discarded his monster from the field. "Then I summon Mataza the Zapper (1300/800), who can attack twice per turn. I'll then equip him with United We Stand, a spell card that gives him 800 ATK for every face-up monster I control. MY four sheep and himself means he's at 5700. Attack Manju then directly for 10000 points of damage. Good game." And that was that. Raiz won, and Silencio was left to wallow in despair for another two seconds until he forgot the duel completely. That was their routine. Then, every Saturday, they would participate in the tournament and lose in the first round of the top 8. Then there was their other friend, who normally only came by the shop on Saturdays for the tournaments. She usually made it into the top 4, and even has a couple of 2nd and 1st placements under her belt. And her name is Seridan. It was a Wednesday, but she was there, and she watched Raiz and Silencio's duel with little interest.

Duelist Name: Seridan Tosti

Appearance: Short brown hair, short, but taller than Silencio, not an ounce over or underweight, wears black shirts and baggy black jeans.

Favorite Card: Mystic Swordsman LV6

"And, as usual," she said to Silencio, sighing, "Raiz has destroyed you before you could break out Exodia. That is why you fail at this game." She laughed.

"A little harsh there," Raiz said. She stopped, pouting.

"Fine," she responded. "Don't let me have a little fun with the n00b."

"That's it!" Silencio yelled, standing abruptly. "I'll prove to you that the deck can work! I challenge you to a duel, Seridan!" He pointed at her and started breathing heavily.

"No," was all she said. Calmly, smoothly, and with good enough timing to cause her challenger to fall onto his back. She then continued. "Build a new deck, then we'll see. You've got the Ritual monsters; you've got the normal monsters; think of something other than Exodia." She sat down in his seat, since he was on the ground wincing from pain anyway. "Wanna go outside, Raiz, and have a Duel Disk game?"

"Sure, let's go," he replied, trying to hide his embarrassment. She was hot, he would admit that to almost anyone, and he had liked her for quite some time now. Still, he knew he couldn't hold back. That just wasn't his dueling style. As they walked out, someone else walked in, bumping Seridan's shoulder.

"Hey!" she called out. "Asshole, what was that for?" He turned. He was tall and wearing a black overcoat. His eyes were covered by somewhat long, black hair.

"Sorry," he said. "But I guess I just don't care." The mystery man turned around and walked on. Seridan was pissed, to say the least. She ran up to him.

"You selfish bastard!" she yelled. "We're gonna duel, so I can have the pleasure of kicking your ass!" Raiz's head dropped. The two of them hadn't had a big duel in so long…

"Fine," the man said. "If it'll help you to stop pestering me." He opened his overcoat. There were ten full decks, each neatly arranged in pockets, labeled with small, yellow stars, two ones, two twos, two threes, two fours, and two fives. "These decks are rated by their power. Pick a one-star deck, if you must. Whether you do or not, if you win, I'll buy you a full box of any set you want, so I recommend picking the weakest deck." He waited, showing no sign of caring what she would do at all.

"I pick that one." She touched a one-star deck on his left side of his coat.

"Deal," he said, drawing his duel disk out of a hidden nearby pocket. He removed the deck currently in it, placing it in a special pocket away from the other decks, and loaded the deck Seridan chose. "Come on, let's get it over with. Outside, then?" She nodded, and they left, the whole shop following, even Devon.

"Prepare to lose!" Seridan shouted.

"I don't feel like losing today," the man said. "Maybe next time I'll go easy on you."

"That's it, you bastard!" she yelled, frustrated. "Let's Duel!" A die appeared and rolled a 6.

"Duel," the man said, no expression at all. He rolled a 2.

"I draw!" Seridan declared, getting her starting hand as well. Her opponent already had his ready. "I set a monster and end my turn!" It was a simple move, and her opponent was not interested.

"I'll draw," he said calmly. "And end my turn." This amazed the whole audience. He didn't do anything at all; he was wide open!

"Not even going to set a bluff?" She asked, amused. This was going to be too easy. "Very well, I draw!" She smiled at her new card. The duel was basically already over. "I flip my Command Knight (1200/1900)!" A knight in orange with a huge, thick sword appeared on the field. "Then I summon Marauding Captain, who'll allow me to Special Summon my Mystic Swordsman lv2 (900/0)!" The Captain appeared, swords held high, alongside a young blade master with a long white sword, pointed hat and a purple jumpsuit. My knight increases all my Warrior's ATK points by 400, meaning my Swordsman has 1300, my Captain 1600, and my Knight 1600! Go in and attack, my monsters!" The monsters all rushed forward. Slashing away with their swords. 8000-3500. "Your move!" The man didn't flinch. However…

"Perfect," he said. "I'll draw." He did so enthusiastically. "Then I activate Nightmare's Steel Case, a spell card that stops us from attacking for two of your turns." A black, barred cage appeared around the field and players. "I'll end."

"You're so boring," Seridan pointed out, drawing. "Oh well. I set a spell or trap card, and let you take it from there. Let's see something unexpected this time!" The cage started to rust and crack.

"Unexpected?" The man asked in a mocking voice. "Fine. I draw." He briefly glanced at the card he drew, placing it in his hand. "And end. Now I have seven cards in my hand, and I'm forced to discard. I choose Snatch Steal." Gasps and whispers rose from the crowd.

"Why would you discard such a powerful card?" Seridan asked.

"Because I don't need your pathetic monsters to win," he replied. "Do you even know who I am?" Everyone shook their heads. "I am Expel, remember that well. You'll all soon see that I am unbeatable. This duel was mine when it started."

"Well, Expel," she said. "Try actually doing something if you plan on winning. What, are you running some obscure Exodia stall or something stupid like that? I draw!" She saw her new card and sighed. "That'll be it. I'll end." The cage collapsed around them, leaving Expel with no protection.

"I draw," he said. "And activate The Dark Door. This spell card makes it so that we can only attack with one monster per turn." A black rectangle appeared in the middle of the field. "It'll only allow one monster through each turn. I set a spell or trap and end."

"My draw!" Seridan saw her new card and giggled. "Awesome. I tribute Mystic Swordsman and Marauding Captain to summon Gilford the Lightning (2800/1400)!" A warrior in silver with a powerful blade and a red cape slammed onto the field, laughing. "And thanks to Command Knight, my monster has 3200 ATK points! Go, Gilford!" The monster slowly walked through the Dark Door, then proceeded to strike Expel with its sword, which was now sparkling with electricity. 8000-300. "Your turn, Unbeatable Master." She started laughing, quite maniacally. Not something a good guy is seen doing often.

"I draw," he said, ignoring her laugh. "And activate Swords of Revealing Light, to stop you for three more turns." The colorful blades surrounded her. She growled, baring her teeth. "You may go."

"I draw!" she said, annoyed. "I'll summon a second Command Knight, so now I have two monsters with 2000 ATK alongside a monster with 3600. Let's see you stop this one! Your move!" One sword faded away. He smiled, drawing.

"I draw," he viewed his new card, "and use Mystical Space Typhoon on your facedown." A vortex appeared in the sky. It struck lightning on Seridan's set card, destroying it. It resembled a castle. "Royal Decree, as I suspected. A trap card that, while it's activate, negates all other trap cards. Quite ironic. I'll end."

"My turn then!" she said, annoyed again. "I'll shift my Command Knights to defense mode and just end, removing another sword!" Now only one sword blocked her monsters from reaching the Dark Door in order to attack.

"I draw and end," Expel said as he was drawing his card. He then looked at his new card, not surprised.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Seridan asked, annoyed. "I can't protect my respect by beating a duelist who doesn't even do anything! Man, this is probably the easiest duel I've ever had! I've seen no opposition! Kya! I draw!" She was not amused with her new card. "Fine, go. It's your turn." The last sword faded.

"I'll draw," he said. Picking up his next card. "And end my turn, discarding the monster Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive (1400/1000). This monster would normally allow me to draw a card when it would be flipped, but I don't need it." The duel appeared to be over.

"You're either an idiot and can't figure out your duel disk, or just an idiot." Seridan drew, sighing. "Now, Gilford, attack his lifepoints directly!" Passing through the door, the warrior raised its blade high and brought it down.

"Activate trap card," Expel said, smiling. "I set it before your monster even touched the field, don't you remember? And, get this, the card was Mirror Force. Now your Gilford is destroyed." The blade struck a white, shining barrier. The electricity was reflected back, incinerating the warrior.

"Dammit," Seridan cursed. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"I draw," Expel declared. "I'll begin by using Lightning Vortex by discarding Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600). Now your Knights are destroyed." Electricity flowed from the sky, blasting the Command Knights. "Then I'll use Nobleman of Crossout on your set monster." A sword appeared in the sky and stabbed down on the set card. Warrior Lady of the Wasteland (1100/1200), a blonde warrior in a black and green outfit, appeared, then shattered. "My card has now removed your monster from the game."

"Not bad," Seridan said. "So you've managed to clear my field. At least you're doing SOMETHING."

"I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon (1100/600)." On the field came a small, mechanical snake. "This monster is treated as a Cyber Dragon while it's on the field. Now I activate the spell card Power Bond, a fusion card that only works on machines." A black circle appeared in the sky, surging with electricity. "I fuse Proto-Cyber Dragon and the two Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) in my hand together." Cyber Dragon was a very powerful card that could be Special Summoned if one's opponent had at least one monster and the Dragon's holder had none. It could have destroyed Seridan's plans, but he didn't play it. Everyone realized this. Two, larger mechanical snakes appeared. All three monsters were sucked into the black circle. The electricity intensified. The whole exploded, revealing a new monster. It had three heads, like the serpentine bodies of the Cyber Dragon, and a huge body with two gigantic wings. "Meet Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800," Expel said, smiling. "And with Power Bond, my monster's power is doubled, meaning it now has 8000 ATK points. Cyber End Dragon, attack." The card burst through the Dark Door and approached Seridan. It got all three of its heads together. They breathed a powerful united flame, charring her lifepoints away. 0-300. "Good game."

The holograms faded and Expel proceeded inside, handing Devon four slips of paper. The whole crowd followed, curious what they were. Raiz Seridan were outside still, sitting on the ground, as it began to rain. "These are them," Expel said. "Four invitations to Malmid's Underground, a tournament that's guaranteed to be more intense than even the World Championships. I suggest you host a tournament of your own and give these to the top 4." And with that, Expel left, not another word spoken and not a glance given to Seridan.

"Dammit…" Seridan said, punching the now muddy ground. "I lost!" She started to cry tears of anger. Raiz sat there next to her, trying to think of some way to help her.

"Seridan…" he said. "I…" He stopped as she leaned her head on his shoulders, her tears turning into disappointment.

"Thanks for staying with me," she said. They both knew this meant nothing, but just getting to share the moment made Raiz's day. The next day, however, only one thing was on his, and everyone else's, mind.

Malmid's Underground.

End of Chapter 6.


	7. Chapter 7

Duel to the Death

Chapter 7: Swissed

The time had come. It was Saturday, and the whole shop was prepared. The top four in this small, local tournament would receive invitations to one of the biggest tournaments any of them had ever heard of; Malmid's Underground. No one, however, was as excited as Bolu, or as his friends call him, Silencio.

"Five dollars in the bucket if you wish to participate!" Russ was yelling loud, trying to make sure his voice was heard over the overwhelming crowd that was flooding the card shop.

Duelist Name: Russ

Appearance: A big guy with brown, curly hair, and wearing a tan shirt

Favorite Card: Green Gadget

His voce was deep, loud, and yet could hardly be heard. Tables were set up outside, just to make sure everyone can duel at once. "The tournament will be in Swiss format! You will all duel a total of five duels! The eight with the best record at that time will move on! Any questions?" A little boy raised his hand.

"Is Chaos Emperor Dragon allowed?" All the regulars stared at the boy. The many new comers, however, seemed to either be used to it… or even wondering the same thing. Russ sighed. He looked at Devon, who nodded.

"This will be advanced format only! Deck checks will be provided to make sure that your deck follows the proper format!" That had never been done before, not at that shop at least, but it seemed to be the best choice. The bucket was two feet tall and a foot wide, yet half filled with one-dollar-bills by the time sign-ups were complete, an hour after they started. Devon would definitely not be closing at 6:00 tonight. Raiz was in the third duel announced, assigned to duel someone who came just for the tournament. Almost no regulars were paired together. His opponent was an old man, his black hair all over the place and breath smelling of alcohol. Raiz looked at the man's deck. It was a good 60 cards.

"I go first…" the man said lazily after winning the dice roll. They both drew their cards. "I play… this." He put down an Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000), a green man with wings. "Then I set this…" he played a facedown, and then waved Raiz on. He drew.

"I play Mystical Space Typhoon." The man jumped in his seat, shocked apparently.

"Man…" he said, placing Shift in the graveyard. "My best trap card…"

"I summon Lily," he said, placing his favorite card on the field. "And I attack Avian, using her effect." The man was in shock as he placed his monster in the graveyard. 6000-5600.

"That card should be banned…" he said, swaying from side to side. "You're a cheater. I give up." And so the man wobbled away, waiting his next duel, hoping for a fair one. The strangest people lived in that area. Seridan's duel wasn't much harder, as she was already done by the time Raiz's drunk disappeared.

"Man," she said, laughing. "I faced a B.E.S. deck. Seriously, Silencio might actually stand a chance here."

"Doubtful," Gus said, walking up to them.

Duelist Name: Gus

Appearance: Tall with red hair in long dreadlocks and always wearing a dark green shirt

Favorite Card: Nimble Momonga

The guy made top four in every tournament, taking first quite a few times. He was one of the shop's elites. "The poor guy got paired up with a regular, arguably the best." Gus smiled to himself, laughing silently. "It's not that I like watching your friend get his ass kicked, but the duel is so one-sided… he's screwed."

"Don't tell me…" Seridan said, a droplet of sweat running down her cheek. "He didn't get paired up with…" Gus nodded.

Duelist Name: Flamer

Appearance: Not all that tall, though taller than Bolu. His hair is short and brown and he always wears a red jacket

Favorite Card: Anything OTK-Related

Flamer was a legendary duelist around these parts. His decks all focused around fast kills, sparking when Magical Scientist first came out. No one knows the origin of his nickname, and few remember what his real name is, but all shake with fear the second they hear their name paired with his.

"What's the score?" Seridan said, running up to Devon, who was eagerly watching the match himself.

"Silencio won the first duel by pure chance," he said. Raiz and Gus just caught up, surprised at how fast Seridan ran. "Flamer drew no good cards. Now he's… um… not too happy. Lifepoints are full." Silencio's field was a Gene-Warped Warwolf and a hidden spell/trap card. Flamer had no field at the moment.

"I activate Heavy Storm," the regular said in a raspy voice, throwing down his potential 1 for 6 for a 1 for 1 exchange. Silencio placed his Mirror Force in the grave, sighing. "Now I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands! I'll use it to add Advanced Ritual Art to my hand!" Searching his deck, Flamer found the card he wanted. "Now I activate it, targeting Demise, King of Armageddon (2400/2000). I remove Insect Knight (1900/1500) and Neo Bug (1800/1700) from my deck and special summon my monster. Now I pay 2000 lifepoints to activate Demise's effect, to destroy every other card on the field." 8000-6000. Flamer stayed so calm, his voice never exclaimed. Silencio…

"Crap!" he yelled, slamming his Warwolf onto his graveyard. "This isn't fair…" Flamer shrugged.

"I wanted to run Ben Kei, personally, but with so much at stake… well never mind. Where was I…" Flamer searched his hand. "Ah, right. Okay, I remove my two insects in my graveyard from play to special summon Doom Dozer (2800/2600). And with this Megamorph on Doom Dozer, I have my monsters attack. The total damage comes to 8200." 0-6000. "Round three." Raiz checked Silencio's hand. No Exodia, so it must be a pure agro normal monster deck. He stood no chance though, either way.

"I'm winning this time," Silencio said, drawing six cards from his freshly shuffled deck. Flamer was fanning himself off with his five.

"Feel free to try," he said.

"I pay 1000 lifepoints!" Silencio said, throwing a spell card down. "Go, Prohibition! This card allows me to call out one card name, and ban it from being played! I call Advanced Ritual Art!" 7000-8000. Flamer yawned.

"Okay," he said. "Guess I'll have to destroy that thing… or just break out Doom Dozer and destroy you with it without Demise. Either one makes me happy." He sat back. "Go on."

"I summon my Gene-Warped Warwolf and end my turn."

"Finally," Flamer said, drawing. "Let's see… I'm kinda restricted… so I'll set a monster and this facedown. Go ahead." Four cards in hand, he continued to cool himself. Silencio got angered by the mockery.

"I draw!" he said, picking up a card. "Now go Ancient Rules! This card lets me special summon one level 5 or higher Normal monster from my hand, and I choose my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The moment seemed intense, until everyone saw the SDK Blue-Eyes hit. They all laughed. "Warwolf, attack!" Flamer placed his Neo Bug in the grave. "Now go, Blue-Eyes!" 7000-5000.

"Not bad," he said. "That damned Prohibition has stumped me. You must've had Seridan build your side." He drew his card. "And since my luck is bad right now, I can only concede. Congrats, by a stroke of pure luck, you've beaten me." Not one person was left in the shop not gasping, or no regulars were at least. The worst duelist, no matter what the means were, just defeated the best. It's an event that would be talked about forever… or would've been at least. "Meh, I was just going to give up my invite anyway. I don't care about some stupid tournament. I hereby drop out." He snapped his fingers, and Devon looked up. "My next opponents get the wins. I'm out. I didn't really expect to win anyway." Flamer flipped his hand over. Mystical Space Typhoon, Manju, Advanced Ritual Art, Megamorph, Doom Dozer. The perfect hand to win. "I'm just too bored to go on. So many weak duelists, it'd be selfish to take the poor kid's win away when I'm not even going on." And so, Flamer walked out, leaving Silencio in a pool of embarrassment.

Silencio's luck continued, as he faced many weak duelists after his defeat of Flamer. He ended up with a 4-1 record, possibly enough to make the top 8. Struggling, Raiz managed to get a 5-0 record, facing 2 idiots, getting one of Flamer's bys and scraping out a win against a middle-ranked regular. Seridan easily got 5-0, no problems at all. With the dueling concluded, Russ took over the announcements again.

"All right," he said, holding up a new sheet of paper with eight names on it, branching to the right in traditional tournament style. "We had seven people get a record of 5-0, meaning we could only allow one person with a 4-1 record into the top 8! We checked the rankings, assigning all nine of them points based on previous shop performances. For defeating the best in the shop, Bolu was chosen. The rest of you know who you are. The duels will go like such!" Seridan and Raiz both patted Silencio on the back, congratulating him on his shot to acquire an invite.

"This is going to be awesome!" Raiz said. "If we got three of the invitations! We'd all be in the ultimate tournament together!"

"I doubt that'll happen," Seridan said, looking depressed. "I think I'll be the only one getting in."

"How selfish!" Silencio yelled. "Why do you think…"

"I saw the brackets," she interrupted. "I got a by my last round, so I checked them out while they were being made."

"The first duel!" Russ declared. "Horton versus Dellino!"

"The brackets?" Raiz asked.

"Second duel, Kori versus Yours Truly!"

"Here comes my first reason," she said. "Note how none of us have been said yet." Silencio and Raiz looked at each other, nervous as hell now.

"Third duel, Bolu versus Gus!"

"Damn!" Silencio said, shocked. "Things aren't looking too good…" Then something hit him. "But wait… that only leaves…" Seridan nodded gravely.

"That's why I said that."

"And the fourth duel!" Russ declared, seemingly angry at the randomization process himself. "Raiz versus Seridan!"

"Five-thousand invites," Gora said, standing before the shadowed figure in front of her. The room was pitch black, and her beautiful, young face with the long blonde hair was only made visible by two torches on either side of her. "All of them have been handed out, and only four currently don't have owners." The dark figure picked up his deck from the table beside him and drew a card, glancing at it.

"Does her owner have one yet?" he asked in a somewhat high voice, almost contradicting the environment he was in.

"He is currently fighting for the invitation," she said. "The boy who owns the Spirit of Lily, correct?"

"Exactly." The figure stood, then stepped down to where he was also illuminated by the fire. His face was round and his long, stringy, bone-dry hair was covering one eye. Under the other eye was pitch-black mascara. His lips had black lipstick stained on them, resembling crawling black worms as they twisted into a smile. "My cards are getting anxious. Oh, and before I forget." The figure reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck. He handed it to Gora. "This is for Deryl. I'm afraid yours is still in the making. Master has been… a bit lazy lately."

"What else is new?" Gora asked, leaving against the throne. "You really need to redecorate this place, Malmid. It's kind of creepy and hard to see in."

"I have bigger concerns for now," Malmid rejected angrily.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" came a deep voice from down the hall.

"Deryl's here," Gora pointed out.

"I noticed…" Malmid sighed. Derl came crashing in. His face was half lit by the fire, and in it only rage could be seen. His clothes were still illuminated by the light outside the door. None, just in his boxers, blue plaid ones.

"I told you not to wake me with these fancy meetings," he said, annoyed. "I don't care if you're Master's favorite!"

"He favors none of us," Gora said, reassuringly.

"It's not good to lie," Malmid pointed out, laughing. "Gora has the deck you ordered, by the way. It was very… expensive. Master said he'd accept that Lily for payment. Here's to hoping the kid wins his next duel."

"He'd better," Deryl said, grabbing the deck and turning around. "We've spend millions setting this "Underground" up, and I don't want something like this to mess it up!" he slammed the door, shaking the room.

"Not the most chipper of us," Malmid said. "Is he?"

"I'd better be going to bed too," Gora said. "You have your report, now let's just hope your faith in the kid wasn't for nothing."

"Trust me," Malmid said. "By the time we're done, that card will be ours, even if we have to kill her owner."

End of Chapter 7.


	8. Chapter 8

Duel to the Death

Chapter 8: Blood

Neither Horton nor Dellino was a regular. It's interesting then that they got assigned to duel each other, while the six regulars got assigned to duel one another. All three of the regular duels were going to be interesting, everyone knew it. Raiz and Seridan decided they would try and enjoy the three matches before them. Raiz in particular was interested for the second match to come. Russ was almost undefeated, losing only to Gus, Flamer and occasionally to only a few others. He wins almost every time he duels anyone who isn't a regular top 8 placer. Then there was Kori, the sweet little girl that once handed Raiz a single pack of cards, hence leading him to find Lily. Twelve years old now, Kori had matured quite a bit. She was decent height for her age, taller than most girls, and she's definitely… developed nicely. Not too big, yet clearly there. She almost never entered tournaments, and always lost when she did. It's been months since anyone's seen her duel, and she appears to have come back with amazing new skill. The shop owner's daughter versus the shop owner's greatest helper. After that duel, there was Bolu against Gus. No one expects Bolu to win; everyone knows that he only made it this far by chance. Gus wasn't sweating the duel for a second, and it pissed little n00by to no extent.

The bell over the door rang. Everyone turned, but no one was there. The door was swinging slightly, and in front of it was an envelope with many small bumps in it. Devon walked over and picked it up. Every regular crowded around as he opened it, revealing eight rings with large black stones, as well as a letter.

Direct orders from Malmid himself. The invitations must be given only to those chosen by the Shadows. The following changes are to be made to your tournament:

_This round shall be the last, as soon as the top 4 are decided it shall end._

_The duels are to be single duels, not 2/3 matches._

_Each duelist shall wear the enclosed rings throughout the entire duel._

If these changes are not made, all the shop shall be hunted down and destroyed in a massive outbreak of Blood Duels, much like the one involving Resmund those years ago. Below is Malmid's signature, compare it to that of any invitation to prove authenticity.

Y.M.

Raiz remembered those initials, the ones that told him to go to the shop early on the day the Blood Duel occurred. These rings… he sensed the same energy from them. In order to stop an outbreak of Blood Duels, they had to make four happen… this means putting eight people in danger…

This means Raiz and Seridan could be dueling to kill each other… This tournament quickly went from stressful to dangerous, but everyone knew that there was no way out. The first Blood Duel was bad enough… it was best to keep their totals at a minimum. Many problems were rising, however.

"Raiz," Gus said, holding out a ring. "Do you think these have anything to do with blood duels?" He nodded.

"Definitely, I get the same creepy pulses from these rings as I did those electric waves back then…"

"Dammit," Russ swore. "After all the work I went through to set up this tournament… now we're being forced to throw in Blood Duels! I hoped I'd never have to even hear about them again…"

"We can't let the outsiders know," Gus pointed out. "If word of these duels got public, major problems would arise…"

"But two outsiders are in the tournament," said Vinny, another regular with medium-length blonde hair, of medium height, and a little on the heavy side.

"He's… um… he's right," Devon admitted. "Not to mention the bad publicity the shop would get… it would… well… suck."

"We've got to keep Dellino and Horton," Kori said, appearing from under her dad's arm. "Other than those two, we need to get away from the outsiders."

"We should hold the duels in the abandoned butcher house across the street," Russ suggested. "But not tell anyone. We need to think of a good excuse to cancel the tournament." Devon winked, then fell over, grasping his chest.

"Ack! My heart!" he cried, very dramatically. Frantically, Russ hoisted Devon up, yelling to the shop.

"Sorry about this, but we have to go NOW!" As talk erupted from the outsiders, Kori climbed onto the counter. She stood tall and called for silence.

"It's okay!" she yelled. Everyone was quiet now. "This has happened to my dad before… but we really have to go help him. I'm afraid the tournament is cancelled!" Eruptions of rage appeared all throughout the shop as everyone stormed out, angry. Seridan found Dellino and Horton and told them to stay back. When the shop was empty, Raiz locked the door. "Whew…" Kori sighed, stepping down from the counter. As she did, Devon and Russ walked in from the back door.

"You two," Russ said, talking towards the outsiders. "We have a bit of a problem here. Let's just say that we need to have the final rounds in private. I don't think you'd believe any of us if we tried to explain why. Once we're sure everyone's gone, we're going to retreat to the old butchering factory right over there." He pointed out the door. "You in?"

Dellino, short brown hair and a short body, wearing a red jacket, and Horton, long black hair and a normal-sized body, wearing a black shirt, both nodded their heads in agreement. They didn't know what was going on, but they accepted still, and would most likely end up regretting it.

The butcher shop was like a mansion in height and width alike. No one ever went there anymore due to the rumors that it was haunted. The place was always abandoned, other than the occasional kids daring their friends to run up and touch the place, ring the doorbell, or other shenanigans. The windows on the first three floors were boarded up, the windows on the top six were broken, and the tenth floor appeared to be in perfect condition. To avoid anyone seeing the Blood Duel in any way, the duelists met on the second floor, where windows were blocked at, below, and above that particular level. The room was dark, the only light being a dim light bulb hanging overhead. There was a crane and a control panel, not operational, looming over what appears to be where the animals were kept a floor below. The place smelled faintly of dried blood, cow blood they assumed. Along the right wall were Dellino, Gus, Kori and Raiz. Their opponents stood opposite them along the left wall, Horton, Bolu, Russ and Seridan. All eight were wearing their rings. In the back of the room were all of the curious regulars, including Devon, who seemed worried out of his mind. One couldn't blame him, though; his daughter was about to risk her life, almost guaranteeing at least some extreme pain.

Dellino stepped out first, moving himself to where the other finalists could get a side view of the duel. The spectators moved along the wall to get a better view themselves. Horton, shaking, moved to the spot across from Dellino, his back to the stairs. The duelists stared each other down before donning their duel disks, inserting their decks and calling out their challenges.

"Time for duel!" Horton called. He reached to grab his first five cards, but black electricity shocked him, and he drew his hand back. "What the…"

"Duel!" Dellino shouted, making the same mistake. In front of Horton appeared a small, blue box about five inches long and 3 inches wide. It had a slot, the perfect size for a card to fit in. The floating box startled the outsider.

"What the hell…" he said, staring at the thing. He looked at Devon. "What is this?"

"My guess…" Russ started. "Is that that's how the punishment for losing the duel will be decided. It appears as though the duel's properties will be based off of a card… and the rings seem to have given you the choice." Confused, Horton reached for his deck.

"So I need to pick a card…" The deck shocked him again. Sighing, he reached into his back pocket. "I have no idea what's going on, but I guess I'll put a card in…" He slid a card from his hand into the slot. The box moved to the top of the room, flashing the card to all. Exchange of the Spirit, a trap card with such dangerous potential that it had to be banned.

"Not my idea of a good choice…" Gus said. "You guys may not know this, but these duels will actually drain your life force away. You'd have been better off picking a weak common card to decide how the duel will play out… not one that needs to be banned. A look of terror overcame Horton's face.

"S… so…" he said, stuttering. "Wh-wh-what does that m-mean…?

"It means the loser will probably die," Vinny shouted from the crowd. Horton turned white as a ghost; Dellino hid his fear well… assuming he had any.

"Might as well get started then," he said to his overwhelmed opponent. Blue and red bones of all types spilled from the card floating above. They covered the floor of the arena, as well as the feet of the duelists. Shocked, Horton tried to tear is legs out from the bony mass, but failed greatly.

"No!" he yelled frantically. "I'm stuck!" He looked up, Dellino was already holding five cards.

"It's okay to start now," he said, smiling. "Now quit being so afraid and let's get on with this." Horton drew his five cards slowly, but eventually had them. In front of each duelist appeared, and rolled, a black die. Dellino nailed a 6, Horton failed with a 1. "Then I draw," the victor said, adding his sixth card to his hand. "I'll set one card to each zone," he said, placing down a hidden spell/trap card and monster. "That'll end it."

"Okay then…" Horton said, drawing his card with his shaking hand. "I'll use Nobleman of Crossout… destroying your monster…" A sword appeared and stabbed down on the hidden card. Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) was revealed and destroyed.

"How annoying…" Dellino grunted.

"Now I summon a monster," he said as he placed his card on the field. "Red-Eyes Black Chick (800/500)." On the field appeared a red egg, which quickly hatched open to reveal a tiny, black, baby dragon. It roared cutely and coughed, releasing small flames. "Now… my monster's ability. So then, I can tribute my Chick…" The eggshell cracked. "To summon…" The monster started to grow larger. "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)." The baby was now fully grown and very intimidating. "And… I'll attack." The dragon opened its mouth, its wings spread out wide, and fired a huge ball of red and black flames at Dellino. The set card didn't move, and the target was hit.

"GAH!" Dellino cried as the flames hit his body. The huge ball of fire engulfed him, burning his skin, boiling him inside. Finally, the flames made it past the body and faded away. 8000-5600. There stood Dellino, his face dotted with ashes, his shirt burned almost completely. If not for the bones beneath him giving him support, he'd have fallen. But the bones only covered his feet… he looked down. Remains from the floor of the duel field were rushing over and were now almost up to his waist. "So…" he said, panting heavily. "The loser is lost under a pile of assorted dead guys… and not loosely covered either. The loser will be trapped under there forever… eventually he will decay enough to become some of the bones himself…" He looked up at Horton, his eyes clearly showing he wasn't amused. "The card was indeed too powerful. The loser of this duel will die." The words came like daggers piercing through Horton's soul. One of them will be dead, the other a killer. "Now then, I activate Destiny Board!" A white ghost flew to the top of the arena, an 'F' in its hands. "Now I can activate one Spirit Message from my hand or deck at the end of each of your turns until my message is spelled out."

"Crap…" Horton said, shuffling through his hand. "Ack… guess I have no choice but to end my turn."

"Go!" Dellino declared, his second ghost appearing, this one wielding an 'I.' "and now I draw!" He glanced at his new card with displeasure. "And before I pass it over to you, I'll set a monster."

"My turn…" Horton said as he drew. He was shaking more than ever now. He didn't want to be left decaying under a pile of bones… but who would? "I summon Sasuke Samurai (500/800)!" A small warrior with a large orange head appeared on the field, wielding a small, thin sword. "Attack!" The sword destroyed the hidden monster, a Spirit Reaper (300/200). "My monster can destroy your monster with its effect, which is convenient since your Reaper normally can't be destroyed in battle. Now, go, Red-Eyes!" Dellino grinded his teeth as the ball of fire got shot at him for the second time. The process repeated, the burning and boiling, the pain, the screams.

"Damn!" Dellino called out when the flames finally resided. "That one hurt even more! And now…" Everyone watched as the colored bones crawled up his body, going up halfway between his waist and chest. 8000-3200.

"Your turn," Horton said, feeling confident. This confidence was quickly broken, however, as the third ghost appeared, bearing the letter 'N.'

"I draw!" Dellino yelled, obviously angry about how things were going. The second he saw his new card, however, he began to laugh. "Ha! I activate Level Limit Area – B!" A large, blue pillar appeared on the field, a 'B' written on it. "Now any monster with four or more stars is forced to defense mode as long as my card remains active!"

"No!" Horton yelled worriedly as he watched his dragon go on the defensive. "Shoot…"

"Now I'll set a monster and end!" Dellino laughed as Horton drew his card. The duel appeared to be going massively into his favor.

"I only have one other monster that can get around your limit," he said. "And here it is, another Sasuke Samurai!" A second orange-headed warrior appeared, this one on the other side of his dragon. "Then I activate a spell card, Inferno Fire Blast! This card will sacrifice my Dragon's attack in order to inflict 2400 points of damage to your lifepoints!"

"No!" Dellino cried. "This can't be!" But it was. The dragon, though defending, opened its mouth and fired a powerful shot. This attack felt even more intense than the last. By the times the red and black flames cleared, he appeared to be nothing more than a standing corpse. "Gah…" he groaned weakly. The bones were now very high, some rested coldly against his neck.

"Now I'll have my Samurai attack!" Both of the monsters charged forward. The first destroyed a hidden Big Shield Guardna (100/2600), the second slashed Dellino across the face. With this attack, the bones traveled higher still. Only his nose and up was visible now. 300-8000. His eyes shot open, flooded with anger. He mumbled something, but no one could understand it. "I'm sorry…" Horton said in a regretful voice. "I end." With this declaration came the fourth spirit message, 'A.' 'FINA,' only one letter was missing. Dellino, unable to speak, drew. He set a spell/trap down and ended. "So that's it…" Horton said. As he drew, however, the set card was revealed. Threatening Roar, a card that stopped Horton from attacking that turn.

"And so it ends," Russ said. "The first life is about to be claimed by the Blood Duel."

"I… can't do anything…" Horton said, his eyes wide. He had no choice. "I end…" The final spirit flew up to meet the other four; 'L.' 'FINAL' was now spelled out in its entirety. The white ghosts all attacked Horton, causing such immense pain that it was impossible for him not to omit a blood-curdling scream. 300-0. The bones rapidly piled up as Horton struggled to break free, but to no gain. As this happened, Dellino was freed. He jumped down from the arena and ran over to try and pull the bones off of Horton.

"Let go!" he cried, ripping off a red skull. "Don't kill him!"

"_Do not disobey the Shadows…_" said a dark voice. Dellino looked up to see a black beast lunging down at him. The monster snatched him up quickly, tearing his body into the darkness, a trail of blood left behind. Horton was now fully covered in the red and blue bones. The pile soon faded, however, leaving only the white, bloodstained bones of what was once a person. Everything from the Blood duel faded into the darkness, leaving behind a pile of blood, a pile of bones, and a black ring resting on each.

End of Chapter 8.


End file.
